396 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL-. 



colony; and in 1891 honey was re- 

 ported in California as only one-third of 

 a crop ; in 1892 the honey crop was a 

 complete failure, but the bees in the 

 house apiary gave me some surplus, and 

 went into winter strong, with plenty of 

 stores, while the colonies outside did 

 not do anything on account of the differ- 

 ence in temperature between the day 

 and night. 



The bees that were kept warm in the 

 house apiary could, and did, work wax 

 in the sections all night, while those 

 outside could only keep the brood 

 warm, and in the middle of the day the 

 outside bees were working to keep the 

 brood cool, and their combs from melt- 

 ing down. Those protected from the 

 heat were carrying in honey all day. 

 These are a few of the reasons why the 

 house apiary is my hobby. 



There are a number of beginners in 

 this neighborhood, and we are all much 

 pleased with "Our School in Bee-Keep- 

 ing," and all ready, waiting and willing 

 for the next lesson. 



Please tell the editor of the Bek Jour- 

 nal that we are much interested in the 

 temperature reports, and would vote to 

 have them continued, as in this part of 

 the country we measure heat by the 

 foot, and rain by the wheelbarrowful, 

 because long before the summer is over 

 we run out of degrees, and the way we 

 measure rain by the wheelbarrow Is 

 thus : We place a large iron barrow in 

 a secluded, convenient place, and meas- 

 ure the amount of water it holds after a 

 rain. We have had another splendid 

 rain for the last four days — it has poured 

 down nearly all the time. The bees 

 have done well so far. 



John Collins. 



Elsinore, Calif., March 10, 1893. 



Reads this Department First. 



As soon as I get my copy of the Bee 

 Journal, I look for and read this de- 

 partment the first thing. I hope to see 

 our friends in the South " spread them- 

 selves," and make the " Sunny South- 

 land " department useful and instruc- 

 tive. R. W. Thompson. 



Estabutchio, Miss. 



Xhe Bee-Ifleetins: at Greenville, 

 Tex., on April 5th and 6th — are you 

 going to be there ? It will be an enjoy- 

 able time, and you ought to come if you 

 possibly can do so. 



In this department will be answered those 

 questions needing immediate attention, and 

 such as are not of sufiQcient special interest to 

 require replies from the 25 or more apiarists 

 who help to make " Queries and Replies " so 

 interesting: on another page. In the main, it 

 will contain questions and answers upon mat- 

 ters that particularly interest beginners.— Ed. 



Sowing Alsike Clover Seed. 



1. Will you please tell me through the 

 Bee Journal what time Alsike clover 

 should be sown ? 2. Would It do to 

 sow with wheat or rye, in the spring ? 



Thomas Fore acre. 

 Marshallton, Del. 



Answer. — 1. The sowing should be 

 done as early as possible, so that the 

 seed may catch some of the spring rains. 



2. Yes ; or it may be sown with oats, 

 provided the ground can be gotten into 

 the proper condition early enough. 



California Bee-Keeping, Etc. 



1. Have there ever been bees shipped 

 by the pound (in bulk) across the conti- 

 nent, say from California to New York, 

 or vice versa ? 



2. By doing so, what would be the 

 possible cost per pound ? 



3. Is there any honey gathered in the 

 the sugar-pine belt? 



4. How would a location be above the 

 pine timber, where brush is abundant, 

 up on high mountains ? Ctuld bees be 

 expected to do well in such a latitude? 



Millville, Calif. John C. Kropp. 



Mr. W. A. Pryal, of North Temescal, 

 Calif., to whom we referred the above 

 questions, kindly replies as follows : 



1. I have never heard of bees being 

 shipped to or from this State in pound 

 packages; yet I should think they can 

 be. It is not advisable to do so, for 

 many reasons. In the first place, there 

 are sufficient bees either in this State, 

 and in the States beyond the Rockies, to 

 supply the demands of bee-keepers in 

 either division. Should Eastern apiarists 

 want a lot of extra bees early in the 

 season, it would be wise for them to 

 send to some of the Southern States for 

 them ; if an apiarist in the northern 

 part of this State desires a quantity of 

 bees early in the season to build up a 

 nucleus, then he had better send to 



